Tear gas palm pistol



May 13, 1969 A. E. MANATOS TBAR GAS PALM PISTOL Filed Aug. 4, 1967 m 05 m MN A M r... W E R D N A Unite US. Cl. 421 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A T-shaped tear gas pistol having a charge-containing barrel, a transversely disposed handle projecting in opposite directions from one end of the barrel, and a springpressed detonating lever is pivoted at and within one end of the handle and likewise projecting in opposite directions substantially across said barrel end. The barrel consists entirely of a short cartridge and is adapted to project between two adjacent fingers of the users hand (usually the index and middle fingers) when the opposite ends of the handle are gripped between said fingers and the hand palm. A trigger is releasably engageable with the free detonating lever and is adapted to be pressed by the thumb to actuate the detonating lever.

This invention relates to defensive weapons and more especially to pistols for discharging disabling products such as tear gas.

In order for a defensive weapon to be of maximum service to a party when attacked, it must be capable of instant use unbeknown to the attacker. Heretofore, various types of tear gas weapons have been devised such as disclosed in Patents Nos. 1,760,674 and 3,109,253. Although the prior art weapons of this type are sometimes shaped to simulate non-defensive articles for the purpose of deceiving the attacker, these are also adapted to be carried in the pocket of the user: consequently, when the latter is attacked, he must reach for the weapon and thereby unintentionally warn the attacker of defensive action.

It is critically important for tear gas guns of the type described to be capable of being carried in a substantially totally concealed position in the users hand and ready for instant discharge in response to pressure by the users thumb. By concealing the weapon in this manner, the user stands ready to initiate a surprise counterattack upon an assailant with a minimum amount of manual movement.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a defensive tear gas palm pistol which may be carried and operated While in substantially totally concealed firing position within the users hand.

It is another object of invention to provide a T-shaped pistol having a short barrel or cartridge extending transversely from an intermediate portion of the handle thereof and adapted to fit between two adjacent fingers of the users hand when the handle is gripped between said fingers and the hand palm.

It is a further object of invention to provide a pistol of the type described wherein the barrel consists entirely of a cartridge detachably secured to the handle.

It is yet another object of invention to provide a tear gas pistol which is of minimum size, simple in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and of a shape which facilitates instant use in an emergency.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a tear gas pistol according to the invention, and positioned in a persons hand ready to be fired;

States atent FIGURE 2 is an elevational view looking at the lefthand side of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 33 in FIGURE 2, showing the detonating mechanism of the piston in bold-line cocked position;

FIGURE 3A is a view of an accessory pin employed to cock the detonating mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan view taken along line 4-4 in FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional detail view taken along line 5-5 in FIGURE 3, showing portions of the safety device for preventing accidental discharge of the pistol.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the. numeral 10 denotes the handle of a T-shaped tear gas pistol having a relatively short barrel or cartridge 12 extending transversely from an intermediate portion thereof. The handle supports a detonating mechanism 14, a trigger mechanism 15, and a safety mechanism 16, each of which will be described hereinafter in detail.

The handle 10 has a recess 17 therein to which access may be had by means of a side cover plate 10a removably secured in position by means of screws 19. The recess has communicating therewith a transversely disposed bore 20 in which is threadably secured the above-mentioned cartridge or barrel 12 as at 21, said cartridge being charged with a suitable tear gas or like product 22 and provided with a percussion cap 23 at the threaded end thereof.

The detonating mechanism 14 comprises a lever 25 pivotally mounted at one end of the handle as at 26 within the recess 17, said lever extending in opposite directions from the intersection of the handle and barrel axes. The intermediate portion of said lever is provided with a firing pin 27 adapted to strike the cap 23 as the lever 25 is moved from bold-line to dotted-line position by means of compression springs 28.

The upper free end of detonating lever 25 is disposed at the opposite handle end and has a notch 30 therein adapted to releasably engage a second notch 31 on the lower end of inclined latch 32 of the trigger mechanism 15 to thereby hold the detonating mechanism 14 in bold-line cocked position. By positioning the lever within the handle and in the above described coextensive relationship with the intermediate handle portion, a simple, more eificient, and compact construction is provided.

Latch 32 is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 33 to the upper end portion of handle 10, said latch being yieldingly biased in a clockwise direction to a latched position by means of a compression spring 34. By depressing the upper inclined end portion 32a of latch 32, the detonating lever 25 will be released to cause the firing pin 27 to strike cap 23 which, in turn, will detonate charge 22 in cartridge 12.

It is evident from FIGURE 3 that the distance between firing pin 27 of lever 25, when the latter is in cocked position, may be easily adjusted to suit operating conditions by rotating cartridge 12 in its threaded bore 20.

A bore 35 is provided in the upper front end portion of handle 10 and opposite the upper end portion of detonating lever 25. This bore is adapted to receive one end of a pin 36 (FIGURE 3A) when it is desired to cock the detonating mechanism.

The safety mechanism 16 includes a bar 37 (FIGURES 2, 3 and 5) slidably mounted for transverse movement in the upper end portion of handle 10, said bar being located immediately beneath the latch end 32a. Bar 37 has spaced recesses 37a and 37]) therein which are adapted to be selectively engaged by a ball 39, said ball being yieldingly pressed into a selected recess by means of a spring 40 in bore 41. The bar is also provided with a notch 370 in its upper edge, the latter being adapted to be penetrated by a projection 3212 depending from the underside of latch end 32a when the latch is depressed to actuate the detonating mechanism 14.

In the drawings, the trigger mechanism 15 is shown in firing position, at which time the ball 39 engages the recess 37b (FIGURE and projection 32b is positioned opposite the notch 37c as previously stated. When it is desired to render the latch or trigger 32 inoperative, the bar 37 is pressed away from the observer in FIGURE 5 until the recess 37a is engaged by the ball 39 and the notch 37c is laterally offset with respect to projection 32b thereabove, thus blocking the downward movement of the latch end 32a.

An elastic strand or band 43 is attached to handle so as to provide loops 44 and 45- into which adjacent fingers of the user may be inserted to hold the pistol upon the hand.

The strand 43 has its opposite ends secured respectively to the upper and lower end portions of handle 10 as at the previously mentioned cover screws 19, the intermediate portion of said strand being secured to the handle as at 46 near the barrel 12.

Concave recesses or notches 47 and 48 are provided in the upper and lower front portions of the handle 10 and opposite the loops 44 and 45 respectively, said loops and recesses combining to form two openings for accommodating adjacent fingers of the hand when gripping the handle.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the pistol is usually held with V the index finger 50 and the middle finger 51 extending respectively through loops 45 and 46, with the cartridge projecting between these fingers, and with the thumb 52 resting upon trigger or latch end 32a. When the pistol is gripped with the fingers thus positioned, the handle 10 will rest in the palm of the hand while the barrel 12 and trigger 32 will be covered by the fingers and thumb, thereby concealing substantially the entire outer pistol surface, the pistol being ready for use with a minimum amount of manual motion.

It will be appreciated that some users may prefer to have the loops 44 and 45 extend around, and have the cartridge 12 project between, two other adjacent fingers of the hand while employing the thumb to actuate and cover the trigger 32 as before.

I claim:

1. A substantially T-shaped pistol comprising a barrel member for holding a charge of tear gas product or the like, a transversely disposed handle member having its ends projecting respectively in opposite directions from one end of said barrel member, a spring-pressed detonating lever mounted within said handle member and having its ends projecting across said barrel member end substantially in said opposite directions whereby the barrel member is adapted to project between two adjacent fingers of a users hand when the projecting handle member ends are gripped between said fingers and the hand palm, means for pivotally securing said lever at one end of said handle member for oscillation within the handle member ends and toward and away from said barrel end, means mounted in the handle member end remote from said lever pivot for releasably holding the lever in retracted position against said spring pressure, and means mounted on the last-named handle member end and engageable by the users thumb to release the retracted lever for movement toward said barrel end.

2. A pistol as defined in claim 1 wherein said handle member end remote from said lever pivot is provided with an opening extending substantially in the plane of oscillation of said lever, and further comprising means insertable into said opening and engageable with the free end of said lever for moving the latter from released to retracted position.

3. A pistol as defined in claim 1 and further comprising a pair of elastic finger-receiving loops, one end of each of said loops being secured to said handle member adjacent said barrel end and the opposite ends of said loops being secured respectively to the opposite end portions of said handle member to form a supporting means for the pistol.

4. A pistol as defined in claim 1 wherein said barrel member consists .of a tear gas cartridge and further comprises means for threadably securing said cartridge to said handle member whereby the distance between said secured cartridge end and the retracted detonating lever may be adjusted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 756,182 3/1904 Novak 42-1 1,073,312 9/1913 Woods 42-1 1,970,719 8/1934 Von Frantzius 42-1 1,994,294 3/1935 Williams 42-1 2,042,934 6/ 1936 Gill 42-1 2,634,535 4/1953 Borders 42-1 3,018,578 1/1962 Hill 42-1 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 42-69 

